Best Practices

Maximize the value of your customer research with these proven best practices. These recommendations come from extensive experience conducting thousands of AI-moderated interviews.

---

​

Study Design

​

Start with Clear Objectives

Before creating a study, articulate:

• The core question: What must this research answer?
• The decisions: What will you do differently based on what you learn?
• The stakeholders: Who needs to act on these insights?

​

Focus on Depth, Not Breadth

Don’t try to cover everything. Studies that go deep on 4-6 topics deliver more actionable insights than broad studies that skim 15 topics.

​

Write for Your Participants

• Use language your customers understand
• Avoid internal jargon and acronyms
• Frame questions from their perspective
• Test your wording with a few participants

​

Trust the AI to Probe

You don’t need to script every follow-up question. The AI interviewer naturally:

• Asks “tell me more” when responses are brief
• Probes deeper when participants mention something interesting
• Requests specific examples to ground abstract statements
• Follows unexpected threads that may reveal insights

---

​

Participant Recruitment

​

Prioritize Real Customers

Whenever possible, interview your actual customers rather than panel participants. Real customers provide:

• Genuine experiences with your product
• Specific, contextualized feedback
• More relevant and actionable insights

​

Set Clear Expectations

In your invitation, communicate:

• How long the interview will take (be accurate)
• What topics you’ll cover (high level)
• Why their feedback matters
• Any incentives offered

​

Time Your Invitations

​

Send Reminders

A single reminder 3-5 days after the initial invitation can significantly improve response rates. Keep it brief and friendly.

---

​

During Data Collection

​

Monitor Early Responses

Listen to your first 3-5 interviews to:

• Confirm questions are understood correctly
• Verify the conversation flows naturally
• Catch any issues before scaling recruitment
• Validate your research hypotheses (or adjust them)

​

Don’t Edit Mid-Study

Once participants have started completing interviews:

• Avoid changing questions (compromises comparability)
• Don’t adjust the flow (earlier and later responses won’t match)
• Note issues for next time instead of fixing mid-stream

If changes are truly necessary, document when they occurred and consider separating analysis into pre/post change periods.

​

Check Quality Distribution

Monitor your High Quality count relative to total responses. If quality is low:

• Review if questions are confusing
• Check if you’re reaching the right participants
• Consider whether the topic engages participants

---

​

Analysis and Reporting

​

Look for Patterns, Not Just Quotes

Individual quotes are powerful, but patterns matter more:

• What do multiple participants mention?
• Where do responses contradict each other?
• What’s notably absent from conversations?

​

Consider Sample Size

Always note sample size when sharing findings.

​

Connect Insights to Actions

Every insight should connect to potential action: If an insight doesn’t connect to a potential action, consider whether it was worth learning.

​

Share Widely, But Appropriately

---

​

Building a Research Practice

​

Create Recurring Studies

For ongoing intelligence, establish:

• Quarterly brand health tracking
• Monthly churn analysis
• Continuous onboarding feedback (via widget)
• Post-launch research for each major release

​

Build Institutional Knowledge

User Intuition’s Intelligence Hub becomes more valuable over time:

• Query across historical studies
• Identify long-term trends
• Preserve knowledge through team changes
• Accelerate onboarding for new team members

​

Close the Loop

After each study:

1. Share findings with stakeholders
2. Identify 2-3 concrete actions
3. Track whether actions were taken
4. Measure impact where possible
5. Document learnings for future studies

---

​

Common Mistakes to Avoid

---

​

Quick Reference

​

Study Setup Checklist

• Clear research objective defined
• 4-6 focused topics identified
• Questions written in participant language
• Decision/action identified for insights
• Study tested before launch

​

Recruitment Checklist

• Target participants identified
• Invitation includes time estimate
• Incentive communicated (if applicable)
• Reminder plan in place
• Early responses monitored

​

Analysis Checklist

• Listened to sample of interviews (not just read transcripts)
• Patterns identified across multiple participants
• Sample size noted with findings
• Insights connected to actions
• Appropriate sharing with stakeholders